The Linux community is splitting - right down the middle, at this point - over Microsoft's controversial claims that the open-source operating system infringes on patents it holds. Last Tuesday, Mandriva became the third Linux vendor within five days to say it isn't interested in signing a licensing deal with Microsoft to avoid possible infringement claims. A blog posting to that effect by Mandriva CEO Francois Bancilhon followed similar declarations by officials at Red Hat and Canonical.

"Having eDirectory and Active Directory work transparently with one another is interoperability."

It is interoperability only for those that pay extortion money to MS. Open standards need to be supported to prevent vendor lock-in and give people a choice. Those that support closed standards don't really care about interoperability.